Battle of Bau

Part of the Indonesia–Malaysia Confrontation

Date	21 November 1965
Location	Bau, Sarawak, Borneo
Result	British tactical victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

Indonesia

Commanders and leaders

Christopher Maunsell

Unknown

Strength

~16 men in advance party, 104 men in main force

~100 men in position, later supported by a full company

Casualties and losses

3 killed
2 wounded

24 killed

The Battle of Bau, or the Battle of Gunong Tepoi, was an engagement that occurred on 21 November 1965 in the border area of Sarawak in Borneo between British and Indonesian forces. It was part of the wider Indonesian–Malaysian confrontation, that consisted of a series of small-scale engagements involving Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and which took place over the course of 1962–66. The engagement involved an attack by a 16-man advance squad of British Army Gurkhas on a company-sized Indonesian position. The Gurkhas were then supported by the 104 men in the rest of the company which resulted in the last Indonesians withdrawing after having virtually been destroyed. The Gurkha company, having suffered relatively light casualties but coming under increasing pressure from another Indonesian company nearby, retired from the position. As a result of the action, one Gurkha—Lance Corporal Rambahadur Limbu—received the Victoria Cross.

After relieving the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in August 1965, the 2nd Battalion, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles (2/10 PMOGR), under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Peter Myers, had been tasked with reducing a series of Indonesian camps along the Sungei Koemba river, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Bau. On 21 November 1965, 'C' Company, under Captain Christopher 'Kit' Maunsell, had been sent out to locate and destroy ‘J’ Parachute Infantry Battalion that was attempting to establish a base near Serikin in the Bau district of Sarawak, Borneo. Leaving the majority of the company in a harbour, the company commander and a small patrol set out early in the morning, moving through the dense jungle to search for signs of Indonesian infiltration in the area.

Hearing movement in the dense jungle, the patrol carried out a close reconnaissance which revealed a platoon-sized Indonesian force entrenched on top of a sheer-sided hill, while another group—estimated to be about company strength—was also located about 500 yards (460 m) away to the west on a lower spur. Moving back to the patrol base, Maunsell began giving orders for the company to carry out a deliberate attack on the Indonesian position. Because of the way in which the Indonesians had located their positions, it was necessary for the platoon-sized element on top of the hill to be dealt with first by an advanced party using the element of surprise if possible, so as not to alert the support position before the main assault could be undertaken.

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